Political analysts point to these developments as indicative of the challenges facing the African democratisation process, highlighting that the continent still has a long way to go.

Unita said it had invited the politicians, including Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, Mozambique's Venancio Mondlane and Botswana's former President Ian Khama, to a summit on democracy. "The action of the Angolan government to prevent us from entering Angola is inexplicable and unacceptable,